I made posts with my reflections on each of the first two days on Concerta, and now I’ve decided to slow the interval a bit so as to have something interesting to say. This is my first week of being medicated for ADHD so some of this may apply to all adhd drugs, or all stimulant adhd drugs. With a sample size of one I can only say how it felt for me and leave the causes and effects in a big messy pile.
Sleeping:
I’ve definitely noticed that it’s harder to get to sleep on Concerta. The first day I took it when I got home from the pharmacy (at around 10am) and was pretty spun up at bedtime. I’ve since shifted to as soon as I get up (7-8ish) and that seems to have helped things.
Appetite:
It definitely makes me less hungry, and also less interested in food overall. I’ve been surprised by the nuance of this change. I’m not tempted to eat every last scrap while I’m cooking or cleaning up, instead I’m finding myself listening to my body and eating if it is an appropriate mealtime or if I feel weak.
Productivity:
I think I had a physical and emotional high the first few days about actually getting shit done and I got a whole lot done. Things seem to have tapered down a bit from that initial fervor and I’m still feeling more functional and capable, but not to the same extent. This is interesting because it’s hard to judge what is ‘getting used to the new normal’ versus the first few days just having a different effect as the 7th day. I’ve still noticed that when I get anxious about a deadline or task that can still really cut into my efficiency if I don’t use my bevy of coping mechanisms to stay focused. I don’t think I was expecting that to go away, but it sure would have been nice!
Caffeine:
I’ve tried cutting back, cutting it out, and decaf (sadly – yuck) and so far it really does seem like no caffeine has had the best luck. Time will tell, but the days that I have cut out coffee are the days that I have felt more collected and focused. The concept of cutting out coffee bums me out a huge amount, but so does being ineffective at life so I’m happy to make the trade. I could also see saving coffee for days when I have fewer demands on my focus. I’m definitely going to continue testing this.
Next steps:
This hasn’t been an easy week at work or home and I’m hoping next week will have more exercise and sleep. It makes sense that all of the things I needed to do before medication will still help me on medication. Part of my brain definitely wanted this to be a truly “Magic Pill” versus just an effective pill, and that really is magical thinking.